IS jihadists tortured Kobane child hostages: HRW
Istanbul (AFP) Nov 04, 2014 -
Islamic State jihadists subjected a group of teenagers from the Syrian battleground town of Kobane to a string of abuses, including torture, during six months in captivity, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
A group of 153 schoolchildren was taken hostage by IS in May en route to their hometown of Kobane after sitting exams in the Syrian city of Aleppo, according to HRW.
IS released the ...
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Shiites mark holy day in defiance of jihadists
Karbala, Iraq (AFP) Nov 04, 2014 -
Huge crowds of Shiites gathered in Iraq and Lebanon Tuesday to mark a key holy day in defiance of jihadists from the Islamic State group.
Police and troops were out in force as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims massed in the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala to commemorate Ashura.
Tens of thousands more rallied in Beirut, where the head of the Shiite militant Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasral ...
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U.S. lowers surcharge on Foreign Military Sales program contracts
Washington (UPI) Nov 4, 2014 -
Nations procuring military goods and services through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program are to pay a lower surcharge for contract administration services.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency has announced it is lowering its Contract Administration Services Surcharge Rate from 1.5 percent to 1.2 percent effective Dec.1.
DSCA said it was able to lower the CAS rate af ...
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EU says Ukraine rebel vote risks 'closing' window for peace
Brussels (AFP) Nov 04, 2014 -
Elections held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine threaten to close the "window of opportunity" for a peaceful solution to the bloody crisis, EU foreign affairs head Federica Mogherini said Tuesday.
"The main risk I see now is that we close this window of opportunity for internal dialogue and for dialogue with Russia" on implementing a peace plan all sides agreed on in September, Moghe ...
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Raytheon's field service support for Air Force intel system enters 15th year
Dulles, Va. (UPI) Nov 4, 2014 -
Raytheon is to continue to provide the Air Force with around-the-clock field services to the warfighter at numerous sites worldwide.
The field services, under a follow-on award from the Air Force Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, are for high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and the Distributed Command Ground System mission, or DCGS.
The contract is worth ...
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Saudi, France seal $3 bn weapons deal for Lebanon army
Riyadh (AFP) Nov 04, 2014 -
Saudi Arabia and France sealed an agreement Tuesday for Riyadh to finance the delivery of $3 billion worth of French weapons to the Lebanese army, which has come under mounting jihadist attack.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius hailed the conclusion of the deal, first announced last December, as a major boost to the Lebanese army's ability to tackle "terrorism" at a time when the former ...
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Work moves ahead on two new guided missile destroyers
Bath, Conn. (UPI) Oct 31, 2014 -
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works reports two milestones this week in the Arleigh Burke-class (DG 51) destroyer program for the U.S. Navy.
On Friday, the shipbuilder was holding a ceremony at its Hardings facility in West Bath, Conn., to mark the beginning of the fabrication of the future guided missile destroyer Daniel Inouye (DDG 118).
Daniel Inouye was a U.S. Senator from Hawai ...
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